CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE TRILOGY

by Patrice Wilton

  “No, but I certainly aim to try. I discovered something while I was away. I enjoy a man’s company, and I don’t want to only have my women’s friends.” She laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m much too young.”

  Christine thought about Derek and how she liked listening to his voice, hearing the sound of his laughter, waiting for his smile to break out. She enjoyed watching him, being with him, and felt more alive in his presence then she ever did alone. “I understand, Mom. And you are right. Everyone needs love. Once I find you someone, I’ll worry about myself.”

  “Now you’re talking.” Her mother stood up. “Okay. What shall we do for dinner? Would you like to go to the clubhouse? Perhaps with any luck I’ll see someone who catches my eye.”

  “What? Find a man on your own?” Christine grumbled. “You trying to put me out of business?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  When Christine arrived home, Nicole was out with Jake, so Christine couldn’t avoid thinking about the upsetting conversation she’d had with her mother. Over dinner, her mother had told her that Christine’s father had not always been faithful, but she had loved him and stayed with him regardless.

  Christine had been shocked and saddened to think that their marriage had not been as perfect as she had believed.

  “I’m telling you this, Christine, because I want you to realize that even good marriages have problems. We loved each other, but your father was not without his flaws. He was a very handsome man, and he enjoyed the attention from the pretty young nurses. He’d always flirted, and I pretended I didn’t mind, but after Kevin died, he seemed to need something that I could no longer provide. He began a series of affairs. Oh, they didn’t last long, sometimes up to a month or two, then he’d move on.”

  Christine had sputtered her wine. “Mom! How could you have known this and stayed with him? I don’t understand any of this.”

  “Quite simply, I loved him. He was a good man, a good husband and father. I think if things had been different, if Kevin had grown into manhood and the accident had never happened, our marriage would have been enough for your father. But sadly, when he lost his son he needed to bury his grief somehow. Young women helped him, I suppose.”

  Her mother changed the subject then and somehow Christine got through the rest of dinner, but the idea of her father cheating made her stomach churn and her head ache.

  Sinking down on the sofa, Christine closed her eyes. It was too much! She had wanted to believe that her mother and father had been happy, that love and monogamous relationships did still exist, but confronted with this new knowledge she simply wasn’t sure anymore. Maybe the kind of love she believed in really did belong in fairytales and romance novels.

  A tear slipped out of her eye, and she swiped it away angrily. Even with her eyes firmly shut, she could picture her father sleeping with other women and her mother knowing, hurting, saying nothing, letting him return when he wanted, opening her arms and heart to him, forgiving him, time and again. Perhaps her parents’ generation tended to put up with infidelity and turn a blind eye, but she couldn’t imagine her mother doing it. It was shocking and appalling. How could she?

  The fact that her mother was willing to give love another try was just as unbelievable. Why would she risk the heartache?

  Christine gritted her teeth. Not her. No way in hell. She would never accept a man being unfaithful, and since it was unlikely a man would ever find her fascinating enough to stay with her forever, she would prefer not to take the chance. It was easier to protect a heart than to mend a broken one. Staying clear of romantic entanglements was like preventive medicine.

  Sex was okay once in awhile, but she would not allow herself to love. She had to remember that and not grow soft and foolish.

  ***

  The following morning Christine went out to play golf, giving Nicole and Jake time to be alone. She knew they were going over to tell Brett and his parents about their new relationship, and it wasn’t going to be easy. They had to do it this afternoon because he was flying back to California this evening.

  When she returned home she found the two of them sitting on the carpeted floor, their backs against the sofa, facing the blank TV. Their strained faces said it all.

  “What happened,” she asked gently.

  “Brett called me a bunch of names, and accused Jake of stealing me from him,” Nicole said tonelessly.

  “I punched him in the nose,” Jake said, “and he punched me back.” He rubbed his bruised jaw. “It was not the way I wanted it to go down.”

  “Then Brett picked up Jake’s cane and hit him in his bad leg.” Tears filled Nicole’s eyes. “I know how much that must have hurt, but Jake didn’t even flinch.” She put her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “He’s the bravest man I know.”

  Christine grimaced, picturing the entire sorry scene. “Is Brett going to be all right, do you think?” She looked Jake in the eye. “He won’t make trouble, will he?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jake replied slowly. “He took off after that, and then we went over to my parents’ house and had to tell Mom and Dad.”

  “You’ve had a rough day.” Christine could only imagine how awkward it had been for everyone.

  “They were pretty nice about it,” Nicole said quietly. “They’ve known me for a long time, and seemed to understand that I didn’t want this to happen. It just did. We can’t help that we love each other.”

  “I know, sweetie. I’ve only known Jake for a day, but I can see he is a great guy and you both are well suited.” She smiled at him. “How could you not love a man like this?”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Bradley. That means a lot.”

  “I know you will be good to Nicole.” She patted his arm. “I’m just sorry that Brett is taking this so badly. Of course, I do understand his feelings and it must be difficult for all of you.”

  “You said it.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to leave, Jake.” She looked at both of them. “I’m worried about Nicole. What if Brett does something stupid?”

  “He won’t.” Jake’s voice hardened. “I called him an hour ago and we had a little chat. Basically, I told him if he ever bothered her again, he’d have to deal with me.” He shrugged. “I may have one bad leg, but if he hurts one hair on her head, he’ll have two.”

  Christine’s jaw dropped. “Did he get the message?”

  “He’d have to be completely stupid not to.” Jake ran his fingers up and down Nicole’s neck. “I don’t think he’ll be bothering Nicole again.”

  Nicole spoke up, “He won’t, Mom. He’s a bully, but like most bullies, he’s a coward.” She looked at Jake. “He knew better than to tangle with you.”

  “Right.” Jake took Nicole’s hand and kissed it, and Christine saw that as her cue to leave. She took two steps then stopped, realizing Nicole still didn’t know about her grandmother.

  “Oh, Nicole. I totally forgot. I have some exciting news, and you were out last night, then I was gone this morning--”

  “What is it?” Nicole interrupted.

  “Your grandmother is home. She flew in yesterday and I had dinner with her last night.”

  “I thought she was staying a few extra days with that guy, Salvatore.”

  Christine quickly told her what happened.

  “Oh, poor Grandma. Is she devastated?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I think her ego took the biggest hit.”

  “I’m glad.” Nicole added, “I’ll call her right away and see if I can drop in tonight after I take Jake to the airport.”

  “That would be very nice. She’ll love seeing you.”

  Nicole slipped an arm through Jake’s. “I’ve been trying to convince Jake to stay longer, even though I know he can’t.”

  “I’ll be back in a month for Thanksgiving.” Jake kissed her forehead. “And then in six months I’ll be back for good.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Nicole said softly.

  Christine left
them smiling at each other, and went into her den to do some work.

  ***

  Monday morning, Christine walked into the office and Jenny told her that Emily Perkins had called. Apparently, Nora liked Allen very much and they were going to the Kravis Center to see a play later that week. Christine called Emily back and told her she was happy for Allen and Nora, and if there was anything else she could do, to please ask.

  Once she got off the phone, she asked Jenny about her date with Joe. “So, what happened? Did you two hit it off?”

  Jenny glanced around the room, making sure that Helga was nowhere in sight or within hearing distance. Satisfied that they were alone, she sat down in the chair next to Christine’s desk, settling in for a gossip session.

  “We sure did. He’s like the best kisser ever.” Jenny licked her pink lips and giggled. “We watched a scary slasher film which was kind of cool because I could act really scared and hang on tight to him.” She smiled dreamily. “I wondered if he picked that movie on purpose.”

  “Probably,” Christine agreed. “Then did you go for dinner?”

  “Yes, we ate at the Bonefish Grill. Then afterwards I went back to his place.” She glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “And that’s when it happened.”

  Christine wasn’t all that sure that she wanted to know. “What happened?”

  “We were kissing and then he stopped. His tooth fell out. The one right in front. He’s got a cap on his tooth from an old soccer injury, and it came right off.” Jenny laughed. “He was so embarrassed and I thought it was so cute and endearing, and well, it kind of broke the ice.”

  Helga poked her head around the partition that separated Christine’s desk from the main office. “I heard you.” She put her hands on her square hips. “My poor Joe. He has no confidence in himself.”

  Jenny’s eyes filled with mirth. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Helga. He rose to the occasion.”

  Helga narrowed her eyes and stomped off to her office. Jenny and Christine laughed quietly, then both got back to work.

  Christine had a few more calls to make before the two interviews she had set up. One was with a sixty-five-year-old man, recently widowed, and the other was with an attractive woman named Callie Jensen. Callie was thirty-five, a smart, soft-spoken corporate attorney who was big on pro-bono work. In her impressive resume, she listed work with women’s shelters and as a children’s advocate. Assuming nothing untoward showed up on her background check, Christine would accept her as a client. Already she could think of a dozen men who’d want to meet her.

  Including Derek.

  This dating business was getting to be one big headache and heartache. The idea of finding a perfect mate for her clients and witnessing their joy and happiness as they began their journey of love, was all very poetic and romantic, but it also made her realize what a fraud she was.

  Everyone thought she was a strong successful woman, but in reality she was a terrified little ninny running a dating service, when she herself was too afraid to date and to love.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Derek was not a man who sat around waiting for things to fall into his lap. He’d always been a hard worker, owned his own business, and prided himself in being a man of action. So, if he wanted something he went out and got it, and that included women.

  So, why the hell had he allowed Christine to put him off so easily? Women enjoyed being pursued. She hadn’t been standoffish when it came to getting between the sheets, as long as there was no commitment involved. Actually, she’d behaved very much like a normal man. Why did that bug him so much? Why was he behaving like a clinging female, demanding more from her than she was willing to give? Hell, if the woman needed some space, why not give it to her?

  He’d also give her a lot of that other stuff too. He knew the way she liked it, long and hard and slow. He could do that all day long, and slowly, patiently melt her resolve down. He was in no rush, and so why was he putting the heat on her?

  It wasn’t like he wanted to get married. His boys weren’t ready for a woman in the house. Kevin was in his last year of high school and then he’d be leaving, but Kyle was going to be around for another five years. That kid didn’t want him taking up with anyone.

  He couldn’t blame him. The boy had been the apple of his mother’s eye. They were both so much alike, Kyle and Shannon, while Kevin was more like him. He could roll with the punches better, and kept his grieving deeper inside.

  Derek was not going to let the boys get hurt. He loved those kids more than anything, and respected their wishes above his own. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t make love to a woman. Hold her in his arms, and pretend for a short while that the world was still a beautiful place. The boys didn’t need to know how he spent every hour in the day.

  Whistling, he fingered the key in his pocket, and thought about the nice little job he had to do. The key was to a condo in PGA, a golf retirement village, and his friends rented it out every winter, and it sorely needed some updating. He hired Derek to fix up the bathroom plumbing, put in a new toilet and sink, and rip out the old carpet and put in tiled floors.

  His pal was paying him well, and it would take him several days to get the job done, but the real nice thing about this job was that it was only minutes from Christine’s home. He’d done as much work as he could in her kitchen until the new cabinets came in, so he didn’t have that excuse to see her. But if he could convince her to stop by the condo, they’d have some serious alone time.

  A smug smile tugged at his mouth. He darn well knew that if he got her alone, the chances were batting a hundred to zero they’d end up horizontal, like they always seemed to. It was just the way things were between them. Hot. Steamy. Sexy.

  ***

  Christine had less than two weeks left until her huge singles bash at the Colony Hotel. They had sold one hundred and forty tickets and still had sixty left. Nicole was on top of it, getting air time on the local radio, getting the word out on Facebook, and every conceivable website she could think of to exploit. The Champagne website was looking like a million bucks thanks to Nicole’s graphics. They were getting thousands of hits a week, and already a small percentage of those hits had become clients. It was all baby steps. And making sure this dance was a sell-out event and the talk of the town was of extreme importance. She’d done her research well in advance and knew the boutique hotel was the perfect size for this event.

  The hotel was an institution in Palm Beach, and a favorite with the locals. The Polo bar during cocktail hour was known for their excellent martinis and mojitos, others preferred to relax with their favorite beverage outdoors, enjoying the comfortable seating at Palm Court. In every regard, this was the perfect place to launch Champagne’s first singles dinner dance.

  So why hadn’t it sold out already? Was she charging too much? She had hired a marketing consultant before taking on the dating service. She knew that during the height of the season, tickets for numerous charitable events generally cost five hundred a piece. She was charging two hundred and fifty. Even if she sold every ticket, she’d make only a small profit, but at least the price shouldn’t put people off. You couldn’t even window shop on Worth Avenue for that kind of money.

  But if she didn’t sell all of the tickets, she would lose a great deal of money, since she’d had to guarantee two hundred dinners.

  They had the names of everyone who had a reservation. Jenny had called each person and emailed them a questionnaire. Based on the answers, Helga had done a psychological report so they could seat people according to their interests and likes and dislikes. That was all well and good, but she was concerned about that ratio of men to women, about forty-five to fifty-five percent. Not horrifying, but a little more lopsided than she would like.

  “Jenny? Could I speak to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, boss.” Jenny left her reception desk and sat down next to Christine. “What’s the problem?”

  “Is there any way we can monitor w
ho buys the remainder of the tickets? I mean, what if we end up having all women purchase them and no guys?”

  “We’ve got it covered, Ms. B. Nicole and I talked about it and we’re going to target the places men hang out. She’s put up ads at the local gyms and in flyers for sporting events. We’ll get the tickets bought up, don’t you worry.”

  “Thank God, you two have brains. Now why didn’t I think of that?”

  “You have too much going on to think of everything, and that’s why you pay me the big bucks.” Jenny grinned.

  “Glad somebody’s making big bucks around here,” Helga said, walking past.

  “Where are you going?” Christine asked. It was only three o’clock and Helga looked like she was leaving.

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you? My sister’s in town and she’s staying at the Breakers. We’re having a spa treatment. Wilma wanted to do some mud bath thing, so I asked her if I looked like a pig. Told her I wanted a nice Swedish massage, where I could have my naked body rubbed down by some young hunk.” Helga glanced at her watch. “I must hurry. I’m already late.”

  “Oh. . .well, have a nice time,” Christine managed to say before the front door closed behind Helga.

  Jenny looked at Christine, and they both started sputtering. “Do you believe that?” Jenny giggled some more. “Having her naked body oiled by some gorgeous hunk while we slave and toil. It’s not fair.”

  “Yes, well, when we’ve published as many articles in journals as she, and have been a talk show host on national TV, and have lectured around the world, I guess we could knock off a little too.”

  “Okay, okay, I get the picture.” Jenny stood and headed back to her own desk. “Oh, by the way, Derek called when you were at lunch. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. He left his number.”

  “He did? Do you know what he wanted?”

  “Nope. He just asked that you call him back.”

  “Fine. Thanks, Jenny.” She dialed his cell phone and when she heard the sound of his voice, her pulse quickened.

  She hoped her own voice didn’t sound too eager as she said hello. “Sorry I didn’t call you sooner, but Jenny forgot to give me the message.”